Antipole & Paris Alexander are hitting us hard and fast with the singles, giving us the release of their next in the form of “Midnight Shadows“. This is the second single off the album Crystalline, which is slated to be out on Young And ColdRecords as of May 12th.
Echoing sexy whispers, hang between the electronics. The guitar filters through, caressing the synths as they proceed forwards, shrouded in moonlit monochrome. It almost feels like the spirits of the past are crying out in the electronics, trying to hold you between worlds where time stands still.
Dreams, reality, or something in between? A trick of the light has given us this gorgeous darkwave track that is letting us peer through a gauzy, rhythm driven other world created by Karl Morten Dahl (Antipole) and Alexander. Beware of “Midnight Shadows” or you might fall under the spell of Antipole& Paris Alexander.
For myself, the name Girls Under Glass is heavily entwined with my memories of the 90s. The German gothic industrial icons are back baby, on the label Dependant Records, with a new single “We Feel Alright“. Even more exciting is the fact that on June the 2nd, the album Backdraft is being released, and this is the first album for Girls Under Glass in eighteen years.
The first strains of electronics made the hairs of the back of my neck tingle, before we are plunged into a maelstrom lead by guitars, which yet again morphs into synths, melding with those very guitars. The vocals break through with lyrics of finding hope and enduring companionship.
Verdict is… it’s so, so good. I feel ultra nostalgic, and I admit that my eyes teared up with pure delight hearing this track. Girls Under Glass have lost none of what made them so great, and it seems time has tempered them into an even more powerful force. Not only do “We Feel Alright” but Girls Under Glass sound pretty great after all these years.
Nothing says goth more than a story of maudlin, and that was something the Greeks excelled in. Illinois goth rock act, The Funeral March have touched the tale of “Persephone,” released as an EP on March 15th. The daughter of Demeter (Goddess of Seasons), Persephone (Goddess of Agriculture) is stolen to the underworld by Hades (God of Hell), which causes Demeter to throw the world into a constant winter. Hades finally agrees to return Persephone to her mother for six months of the year while the other half of the year is with him. And so we have the changing seasons…. Spring and Summer are full of life, which changes into Autumn/Fall and Winter when the living world becomes dormant, hibernates, or dies. However, this is a modern gothic tale on the tale.
The drums bear a striking resemblance to The Cure’s “Hanging Gardens” in the first track “Figured“. Echoing and bass heavy, there is the slow descent into a form of madness from being in a world that they never chose to be in and can not leave.
“Nite Nite” is the realisation that things may never go back to the way they were, as the world crumbles under the weight of that revelation. Graduating tones swathe the senses in a sombre atmosphere.The drone of “Two As One” is a modern take on a dark love that dances on the edge of lunacy. The music consumes the senses just as the lust and adoration devour the storyteller.
There is nothing more memorable than a last embrace and lip lock. So we have “Kiss Me (with your last breath)“, a gothic love song, with electronics swelling beneath. A final twist of the knife into madness comes with “Wasted Moon“. A cry to the universe joined by the howling guitar work as they swirl into murky abyss.
People that love The Cure era of Pornography, 17 Seconds and Faith are going to get a kick out of Persephone. Heavily imbued with the sonics of Robert Smith’s crew, the EP is full of lament and the lost visions of dreamers, wrapped in chiming guitar strains.
Last year was a big one for Pete Burns and his project Kill Shelter, with the release of Asylum, one of the best post-punk albums of the year. March marks the drop of a new EP with fellow musician Veronica Stich, also known as Death Loves Veronica, saucily titled The Sex Tape Sessions, out on the ColdTransmission label.
Kicking off with the utterly hot “Sex Tape“, which is a very electronic affair, sensual and pulsating, the rhythm rolling off in waves, while Veronica breathily taunts you. Lyrics of titillation on a screen for the erotic delight of others. There is also an extended remix of “Sex Tape” filled with those rich tones of the forbidden and Burn’s guitar a siren in the background.
The extended remix by Kill Shelter of “The Sinner” strides out in a brazen fashion, the beats dropping heavily in the undulating synths. The confession of a sinner, who is without remorse, even after trying to turn away the person of intense desire because ‘I just want to fuck you anyway‘. The guitar burns like liquid fire and the vocals lick your ears with honey.
There are some songs you feel, settling into your chest, and “Resist” is definitely one of those. It builds like an intense storm, the pressure bearing down, making you realise you just need to give yourself over to the ravenous craving of the music.
The French say each orgasm is the little death, so can there be a “Death Kiss“? Heavy and dark with portent that one might die giving over to the hunger of wanting and need. The extended mix is a thumping trance inducing dancefloor hummer, leading you down the road… perhaps to bliss or ruin.
“Death Kiss” and “The Sinner” were written and released previously by Death LovesVeronica and have been given the Kill Shelter treatment, while “Sex Tape” and “Resist” are joint efforts. Veronica Stich is known as a provocateur, and she has every right to flaunt her stuff, amping up the carnal fervour. Pete Burns is a master not only of music creation, as he did all remixes and the mixing & mastering. There is another reason for calling the EP The Sex Tape Sessions. The musicians themselves have asked fans to use what is considered out dated models of recording, to bootleg the release. Maybe a statement on how throw away society can be. Full of sexual innuendo, explicit language, liquid synths, passionate guitar work, beats to grind to and a goddess playing with your predilection for kinky seduction, this is Kill Shelter & Death Loves Veronica with The SexTape Sessions….. mmmmm, what is there not to like?!
If you haven’t checked out the new goth rock single, “We All Rise“, and the accompanying video from Chicago based band, The Bellwether Syndicate, then maybe you should. William Faith and company ramp it up with an anthem off the soon to be released album, Vestige & Vigil, out on the label Sett Records.
The drums thump away, drawing our attention, with the beautiful guitar sound that The Bellwether Syndicate is becoming so well known for. However, that is nothing compared to the huge belting chorus that surges forth with such conviction and pure anger towards a culture and system that holds people back, preaches money hungry religion as your only salvation and that is discriminatory towards people (especially women, trans and those of colour) who are even losing autonomy over their own bodies . ‘WE RISE ABOVE OUR STATION, WE ECLIPSE THE LIGHT OF NATIONS, WE REVEAL THE FARCE, FOR ALL TO SEE‘….. Faith is nearly snarling during the chorus’. The most poignant verse for me however is, ‘The will to swim against the tide, To break convention, In the great divide, To dare to dream‘ which signifies a universal fight for what is right and not what is doctrine.
Faith has a very sonorous voice and sometimes you forget how much punked up rage he can muster and it is glorious in this track. The video goes from being just William and Sarah Rose Faith on the streets, and becoming a black mass marching down the street. A wonder to behold and “Rise” is a song that needs to be echoed until the world becomes a better place.
What is a parable? I suppose it is a story retold in order to teach a vital lesson, and it is also the latest single from US band, A Cloud Of Ravens. “Parable” is the next single off the highly anticipated new album, Lost Hymns, which is to be released on Nexilis Records, as of the 28th of April.
Ominous, brooding and dark are definitely words that come to mind. This is the most electronic song yet by the duo, almost alive and drawing heavy breaths. The vocals guide you down like velvet and build you up for the amazing chorus that pushes you sky high.
How many times does mankind have to play out the same futile scenarios without learning from them? This is the premise behind “Parable“, which has never been so obvious in this day and age where we are meant to be civilised, yet nations still act with barbaric intent. This is A Cloud Of Ravens’s last single release and like the Oracle of Delphi, they bring a warning that no good can come from this stupidity, wrapped in a gorgeous track called “Parable“.
Lunar Paths is the Trans-Atlantic goth duo of Diane Dubois and Kevin Hunter, and the 15th of March saw the release of a new single, “Silvania“. The band have said the track is based on the werewolf like creature, Loup Garou, from the Margaret Atwood novel Surfacing.
Layers of electronics waver throughout, chiming sleigh bells and drum loops, build a sensuous myriad of a swirling moon bound soundtrack, into which the vocals, sumptuously croon to you, which has a wonderous Siouxsie Sioux style. A vibrant ode the Lycan kind, with the wilderness in their blood that rages, driving them a little insane in the pale light of the Goddess Diana. A pertinent song for a band called Lunar Paths and “Silvania” might have you howling in delight.
At one point or another, everyone has felt like they are invisible or unable to see their way and this is the subject of the latest Meersein single “Lost“. And who doesn’t like a bit of German darkwave synthie-pop?!
I have to say that this is some ways actually reminds me a little musically of the 80s and the likes of Howard Jones. The drum machine picks up a timely rhythm, as the synths tinkle and also create a bass undercurrent. Meersein’s vocal’s range from silk, to whispers and a rather deep sexy growl, as he tells you he is ‘lost like a ghost in a maze‘.
It is worth your while to check out this single, because a little bird revealed that the next is coming out soon, which will be Meersein and Corlyx. Something tells me that is going to be pretty amazing. “Lost” is a nice tasty treat with a video of Meersein singing in a picturesque German forest.
You might need a bit of extra goth in your life, so why not try some tropical goth…. mmm, it is tasty and refreshing in the form of Australian band Locust Revival,and you can whet your appetite with the single “Good Grief“. Actually, they have been releasing darkwave goodness since 2015 and are particularly prolific. *hint hint*
The guitar twanging flourishes, combined with the drum machine, are the first things you hear. The lofi recording only adds to the atmosphere, and when the vocals kick in, it makes you feel like you are listening to an unreleased Joy Division track. Like a dream wafting through, leaving behind the pain of memories, loves great loss with a bass saturated background.
Glorious post-punk sounds from Brisbane. It’s wonderfully mopey, and yet, there is a certain degree of lightness in the guitar playing. A beautiful symbolic looking back at the bands from the past, and you can hear the joy Locust Revival finds in creating this dark expressive music. All we can say is “Good Grief” Danger Mouse, you need a listen.
There is exciting news on the horizon as Norway’s Antipole, aka Karl Morton Dahl and UK’s Paris Alexander have released the new single “Perceptions” which is off their new collaborative album Crystalline, slated to drop on May 12th on Young And Cold Records. It will be out on digital, CD and lovely vinyl.
The clack of the drum machine and sensual synths wake you out of your stupor, beckoning your eyes to open. The guitar rings in beautifully and heralds Alexander’s smooth vocals as the music waxes and wanes with his whispers, infectious and leaving you wanting more.
It is so nice to hear these two working together again, and we have a whole album to eagerly await. There is just something sublime about not only this style of darkwave but how gorgeously Antipole and ParisAlexander have crafted “Perceptions” into a coldwave track that sucks you in until the end.
Onyx Music Reviews 